Computeropolis (franchise)
Computeropolis is a computer animated comedy film series and media franchise produced by Universal Animation and released by Universal Pictures. It features the adventures of Peri Dazz (voiced by Jesse McCartney), an intelligent and kind-hearted teenage boy, who is sucked into the eponymous fantasy and metropolis internet city from his computer, where he meets his character Nicky Kickzoo (voiced by David Spade), the star of Peri's computer game Frenzy. The duo unexpectedly embark on adventures that challenge and change them. The franchise began with the 2004 film Computeropolis and its 2007, 2010 and 2018 sequels Computeropolis 2, Computeropolis 3 and Computeropolis: The Deep Web, with a fifth film currently in development for a 2021 release. It also includes a simulator ride attraction, Computeropolis: A Technical Ride, at Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood, and a television series for the Gingo network titled Computeropolis: Adventures of Peri and Nicky, which premiered in the summer of 2008. A spin-off series, entitled Zola: Queen of the Deep Web, premiered on Universal Kids in early 2019. The franchise has been highly acclaimed with its first two features being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, in addition to the first film's nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Score. The series has now grossed over $1.8 billion, making it the 24th highest-grossing franchise of all time, the fourth highest-grossing animated franchise (behind Shrek, Despicable Me, and Ice Age), and the highest-grossing Universal Animation franchise. Computeropolis and Computeropolis 2 received a "Certified Fresh" rating of 90% and 78% on Rotten Tomatoes, while Computeropolis: The Deep Web received a "Fresh" rating of 69%. However, Computeropolis 3 received a 43% "Rotten" rating, making it the lowest rated film in the franchise. Film series ''Computeropolis'' (2004) Computeropolis was released on July 2, 2004, and focuses on a young computer designing expert named Peri Dazz, who attempts to publish his own game Frenzy to the Internet and suddenly stumbles into an eponymous online universe deep inside the realms of his computer. While finding a way to return home, Peri joins Nicky Kickzoo, the protagonist of the Frenzy game, on a risky mission to eliminate King Trojan, a virus capable of corrupting the entirety of the global system. ''Computeropolis 2'' (2007) Computeropolis 2 was released on July 6, 2007, and takes place two years after the first film, with Peri Dazz now being 16 years old. It focuses on Peri and Nicky entering an massively multiplayer virtual reality online sandbox game, during which Peri finds love. Soon, Computeropolis plunges into chaos when a group of hackers try to hijack Peri's computer and take over Computeropolis. ''Computeropolis 3'' (2010) Computeropolis 3 was released on December 10, 2010. Peri, Nicky, Vinna, Travis, and the rest of the gang face off against Jeff Bick, a ruthless nemesis of Peri who tries to pull a "global warming" on the Internet for good. In order to stop Jeff, Peri recruits his old friends from school. Meanwhile, Vinna meets her long-lost parents Amy and Hank, who abandoned their daughter to find a new life. It is the first film in the series not to be released in July. ''Computeropolis: The Deep Web'' (2018) The Deep Web was released on June 1, 2018. Peri and his friends take a journey to the bootleg world known as the Deep Web led by Rulio, a bootleg knockoff mixture of Elmo and Mario, before Peri prepares to leave for college. During their adventure, Peri and the gang encounter many strange commodities of the Deep Web, such as toy and nursery rhyme channels for children and a tribe of genetically enhanced and highly intelligent photorealistic-looking apes. However, after rescuing a young girl named Zola from many mean-spirited apes formerly loyal to the human-hating bonobo Koba derogatorily called "donkeys", they soon discover Rulio is responsible for making these bootlegs and plans to put a bootleg virus that could destroy Peri's computer, so they must stop him before it's too late. ''Computeropolis 5'' (2021) On the possibility of a potential sequel, in April 2018, Audel LaRoque, the director of the first two films and the fourth film, stated that a fifth installment is already being considered. In June, LaRoque stated that he planned to include references to several of Universal Pictures' properties, including their own films, Illumination films, and DreamWorks Animation properties in the fifth film, when he and the crew saw the second trailer for Ralph Breaks the Internet. With the worldwide success of Computeropolis: The Deep Web in August 2018, LaRoque stated that he is unsure if he can return to direct the fifth film due to his focus on directing Mechagirl. Universal has stated that the fifth Computeropolis installment is already moving forward from Universal Animation Studios. LaRoque announced that he will not be directing the fifth film to work on his original movie Mechagirl instead, but will still write the screenplay and remain as an executive producer. On August 11, 2018, it was reported that Gary Hall (story supervisor of the first four Computeropolis films and co-director of Paradoria) is in talks to direct the fifth installment. Later that day, Hall confirmed in his interview that he will indeed direct the fifth installment. He explained that he found LaRoque's screenplay interesting and he has good discussions with LaRoque on whether Hall can direct this sequel and LaRoque later accepted Hall's decision. On October 21, 2018, Universal announced that Computeropolis 5 will be released on May 21, 2021, with McCartney, Spade and Sarah Silverman reprising their previous roles, as Peri, Nicky and Vinna, respectively. By February 15, 2019, the release date was moved up a week earlier to May 14, 2021. At the time of the release date being changed, it was announced that Brandon Minez and Amy McNeill will be producing the fifth installment of Computeropolis. Minez previously produced the first two films and McNeill previously served as associate producer of the first two films. At the 2019 Annecy International Animated Film Festival in June, further more details including the plot were announced with Universal Animation CEO Michael Wildshill and president David Stainton revealed that Maya Rudolph would join the cast and that the film that many of the Universal characters (including Universal Pictures and Animation, Illumination, DreamWorks, and the Universal-owned Gingo Animation library) would cameo with their respective actors and actresses, including Grey Griffin, who will be replaced by Alicia Vikander for Agent Chrysocolla, would reprise their roles. Further, Universal affirmed that Dan Fogler, Jon Lovitz, Jennifer Tilly, David Hyde Pierce, Jodi Benson, and Millie Bobby Brown are set to reprise their roles, while Hall and Karey Kirkpatrick would rewrite LaRoque's screenplay. According to LaRoque, he returned after he received inspiration from Ralph Breaks the Internet in which he watched earlier while preparing for the script of Computeropolis 5. LaRoque also expressed hope that it would be a better film than the previous installment. In October 2019, Universal announced that the release date of Computeropolis 5 had been pushed back to November 5, 2021 as a result of Universal's updated schedule for its animated films. Television series ''Computeropolis: Adventures of Peri and Nicky'' Coming soon! ''Zola: Queen of the Deep Web'' Short films ''Print 3D Errors'' (2004) Coming soon! ''Peri and Nicky Get a Flu'' (2007) Coming soon! ''The Chat'' (2011) Coming soon! ''Computeropolis Xmas'' (2011) Coming soon! ''Go Party!'' (2012) Coming soon! ''Zip'' (2017) Coming soon! ''Zola's Makeover'' (2018) Coming soon! ''Monkey Business'' (2018) Coming soon! Cast Feature films Short films Television :Note: A dark grey cell indicates character did not appear in that medium. Crew Feature films Television series Reception Box office performance Critical and public reception Academy Awards Video games Theme park attractions Coming soon! Category:Computeropolis Category:Franchises Category:Universal Studios franchises Category:Universal Animation Studios franchises